Franklin Pierce Stages a (Law School) Comeback—150 Years After His Death

Illustration of President Franklin Pierce.

Welcome back, Franklin Pierce. The moniker of our 14th president is returning to legal education after a nine-year absence. University of New Hampshire Law School dean Megan Carpenter announced Tuesday that the Concord campus will henceforth be known as the University of New Hampshire Franklin Pierce School of Law after years of alumni requests. The new name will also capitalize on the school's reputation as an intellectual property powerhouse, according to Carpenter.

It's the latest twist for a law school that has seen significant change over the past decade. The campus was founded in 1973 as the independent Franklin Pierce Law School, and it established one of the most respected intellectual property programs in the country. (Pierce, a lawyer who died in 1869, was a New Hampshire native.) The University of New Hampshire acquired the state's only law school in 2010 and dropped the Franklin Pierce name altogether. At the time, the school's admissions dean said her office fielded many questions from prospective students about who Franklin Pierce is.

But alumni of the school felt differently, according to Carpenter, who unveiled the news to members of the law school community at the Intellectual Trademark Association's annual meeting in Boston this week.